Let the experiment happen

...the policy also represents something larger. "It's a loud statement from the Obama administration that their intent is to let the experiment happen," said John Davis, executive director of the Washington state-based Coalition for Cannabis Standards and Ethics.

"It's huge," he said. "The fact it mentions adult recreational use is historic."

"We're finally reaching a point where we can look at alternatives to prohibition," she said. "It's become very, very clear that the war on drugs has failed and we need to look at alternative ways to deal with illicit drugs. I'm hoping this will inspire the federal government to treat drug abuse as a health issue, rather than throw in jail and leave them there."

Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis called states "laboratories of democracy." A "state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country."

A huge "Thank you!" to the voters in Colorado and Washington State for creating just such laboratories for democracy with their votes to legalize marijuana for adults. May this prohibition soon be a tale about the olden days, as are stories of rum runners in the 1920s today.

2. Patrick Kennedy and Kevin Sabet agree: The end times are upon us.

SAM Releases statement about new DOJ “Trust But Verify” Approach to CO and WA Marijuana Legalization

SAM says to “prepare the floodgates” for negative consequences as a result of a new Big Marijuana industry being emboldened; calls for the CDC, Surgeon General, National Institutes of Health to fund public health monitoring systems

August 29, 2013 – Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana), a national alliance calling for smart marijuana policies grounded in neither incarceration nor legalization, reacted to today’s “trust but verify” approach announced by the Department of Justice that would allow states to go forward with tax and licensing schemes for marijuana:

“This is disappointing, but it is only the first chapter in the long story about marijuana legalization in the US. In many ways, this will quicken the realization among people that more marijuana is never good for any community, which is what happened after the Ogden memo was issued in 2009,” remarked Kevin Sabet, co-founder and director of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana).
SAM noted that the new guidance was similar in language to the Ogden and Cole memos of 2009 and 2011, respectively. After the Ogden memo was released, medical marijuana stores skyrocketed, and public health consequences soared. An increase in the prosecution of marijuana cases also took place, as the Department of Justice tried to reign in the growing industry.

Patrick Kennedy, co-founder of Project SAM, said, “We can look forward to more drugged driving accidents, more school drop-outs, and poorer health outcomes as a new Big Marijuana industry targeting kids and minorities emerges to fuel the flames.”

SAM is also calling for the Surgeon General, Centers for Disease Control, and National Institutes of Health to fund robust data monitoring systems in Washington and Colorado since the new guidance calls for a review of the public health consequences of legalization.

“In Colorado, we’ve seen an explosion of consequences among kids as a result of the new industry that emerged around so-called medical marijuana after 2009,” remarked Christian Thurstone, SAM Board Member and Denver Health treatment provider. “We now have to prepare the floodgates.”

###

Project SAM is a bipartisan alliance of lawmakers, scientists, and other concerned citizens who want to move beyond simplistic dichotomies of “incarceration versus legalization” and instead focus on practical changes in marijuana policy that neither demonizes users nor legalize drugs. SAM was co-founded by former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy. Former George W. Bush Speechwriter, Newsweek/Daily Beast columnist David Frum, Harvard Professor Sharon Levy, Denver Health’s Chris Thurstone, University of Kansas tobacco cessation specialist Kimber Richter, and former Obama and Bush advisor Kevin Sabet also serve on the board of SAM. SAM focuses on a “third way” approach to marijuana, and works with state partners to reach the local level.

4. More "the sky is falling" responses here:

Opponents of marijuana legalization in California criticized the Obama administration's announcement Thursday not to interfere with state laws permitting recreational use of cannabis.

"Decades from now, the Obama administration will be remembered for undoing years of progress in reducing youth drug use in America," Dr. Paul R. Chabot of the Coalition for a Drug Free California said in a statement.

"This president will be remembered for many failures, but none as large as this one, which will lead to massive youth drug use, destruction of community values, increased addiction and crime rates," he continued.

Scott Chipman, Southern California co-chair of the group Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana, said the stand "is another mixed message from this administration regarding U.S. drug policy when what is needed is clear messages that drug use, including marijuana use, is harmful to public health, public safety and society at large."

5. Add Chris Christie to the list:

Christie, a former U.S. attorney, said that in his opinion Holders overstepped his authority.

"I think it's a mistake by the Attorney General, frankly. There is no such thing as medical marijuana, it's just marijuana," Christie said. "He essentially by fiat legalized marijuana in Colorado and Washington.That's certainly something I would never do in New Jersey."

"That's to be decided by the congress and president, not by the Attorney General," Christie told reporters during an unrelated press conference in Point Pleasant Beach.

Christie has said publicly that he would never sign a bill pending in the New Jersey legislature if it ever reached his desk.

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This is a bit odd. Christie throws in an unsolicited jab at medical marijuana, just a few days after he signs a bill allowing kids to use it.

6. you know, this was intended to be a positive moment

about the positive actions that are taking place regarding a change in direction that will hopefully signal greater change to come.

thanks for the negativity, dude. LOL.

As I have said before - the western states are leading the way on this issue. there are some east coast states that are progressive, such as Vermont, but, for the most part, the east coast is far behind on this issue. maybe because so much of the cultural history of the region has to do with alcohol prohibition repeal and the groups that were empowered by that moment. maybe because of the historic racism and the continued targeting of minorities. who knows. as usual, the south and midwest flounder in their old paradigms of religious prohibition and fear-based conservatism.

but the nation is moving on, as ever, and beyond those stale attitudes, hopefully.

8. I posted those links only to show the tenor of what's left of the opposition.

They're on the wrong side of history.

Hey, and give the Northeast some credit. I think New England is ALL medical marijuana now, several states up there have decriminalized, and Rhode Island could be the first to legalize via the legislature.

These are exciting times. I post the loser links only to jeer at them.